Tag Archives: photoshop

After a long night of working on websites, I let off a bit of steam with my old buddy Photoshop.
The above result was inspired by the Danger Ensemble’s physical theatre piece for the Amanda Palmer song “Have to Drive.”
No video could possibly do their performance justice, ever, but this one should give you the general idea.

“Paradoxically, we fail to disclose ourselves to other people because we want so much to be loved. Because we feel that way we present ourselves as someone we think can be loved and accepted, and we conceal whatever would mar that image.”
“Another reason we hide is to protect ourselves from change. . . Still another reason we don’t disclose ourselves is that we were never taught how. . . Personal ambitions and economic pressures also give us powerful reasons for concealing what we really are. . . All of us hide behind the iron curtain of our public selves. . . Men hide what prevents them from seeming strong and masculine. . .”
“Disclosure is so important (because) without it we really cannot know ourselves. Or to put it another way, we learn to deceive ourselves while we are trying to deceive others. For example, if I never express my sorrow, my love, my joy, I’ll smother those feelings in myself until I almost forget they were once part of me.”
-Sidney Jourard, The Transparent Self, 1971.

The past few days have been a hectic mess of work–deadlines for three big bus wraps, plus lots of little bits of production work, which is my responsibility. Because of this, I’ve gotten to know my coworkers a lot better, and they, in turn, me.
This led me to thinking, which led to this doodle.

Fortunately, my coworkers, now knowing at least two of these things, like me even better.
But it doesn’t always go that way.
A lot of times, people get scared. They run away.

I know I promised a real post with recent art, but I have a few good excuses, including (but never limited!) to my car blowing, my house’s A/C being broken (with humidity that makes papers curl, it’s so hot and wet!), starting my new job today, and trying to get financial aid matters all sorted out before classes start again in a short week and a half. Needless to say, I haven’t had time to even pick up a pencil, let alone draw or paint anything. Which sucks, but that’s life? Evidently?

alice in nowhereland.

My ex-roommate, in our shower. I had just installed the newest version of Photoshop and was playing around.

drunk sketches of theatre kids.

I think the title says it all. I dashed these out one night while we were hanging out; they hung in my friend Andy’s hallway for a while, and now they’ve moved with him to New York. I think this is officially the only art of mine that physically resides in the Big Apple. The sad part is, I think these drawing probably have a more exciting life than I do.

katie.

A quick, ten-minute marker sketch of a girl in one of the art classes I took. It actually looks just like her, which I was surprised by.

My friends from college had a running joke about me–they called it “Better safe than Shannon,” because I was constantly getting into some kind of trouble, whether it be with the school, the law, or my parents. Every day was an adventure–“What kind of a mess will Shannon get herself into today?” So naturally, when I do autobiographical comics (which is more often than I’d like to admit) I call them, collectively, “Better Safe Than Shannon.”

This was today’s Better Safe–I woke up to the sound of my mother screaming at me. Mind you, my mother was not anywhere in the vicinity; I’d just been awoken by the sound so many times in my life, my subconscious, in an effort to wake me up, produced it in and of itself. It was both terrifying and hilarious, once I realized what had happened.

And yes, my father really did say I was a terrible daughter…my family is slightly, uh, “interesting.”

For those of you unfamiliar, Illustration Friday is a “weekly illustration challenge.” Basically, every Friday a new topic is posted, and anybody and everybody who wants to take a shot at illustrating it is welcome to. This week’s topic was “Sail,” and since I’ve been sick all day and not really done anything productive as far as art goes, I decided to have a go.

I’m not entirely satisfied with the result; it needs something to tie it all together. But for a quick-and-dirty sketch-and-color, it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever done. Considering how I’ve felt all night, I’m happy with “not horrifying.”

Fun fact: I had to stop about halfway through this and bow to the porcelin god for a good twnety minutes. I was certain I was going to toss up everything I’d eaten today–including that delicious Chai ice cream that I, being lactose intolerant, knew far better than to eat, but devoured anyway. I can’t resist anything Chai.

Also, if you get the chance to check it out, Big Buck Bunny is an adorable CG short by the folks over at the Blender Foundation. It’s funny and cute and I like it. I mean, a massive bunny versus a tiny chipmunk-looking-thing? Honestly, it’s more entertaining than whatever it is you’re doing right now.